Segmented cushion for furniture



Nov. 9, 1954 A. KABLOTSKY 2,693,847 SEGMENTED CUSHION FOR FURNITURE Filed April 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet. 1

PIE. 2

- PIETAA AERA/MM KABLO/ISKY IN VEN TOR.

1954 A. KABLOTSKY SEGMENTED CUSHION FOR FURNITURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aplfil 14, 1952 FI [36A PI [3. 7A

' ABRAHAM K454071570 INVENTOR. 2%. 9 /Mw Nov. 9, 1954 A. KABLOTSKY SEGMENTED CUSHION FOR FURNITURE Filed April 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIE-n9 PI 5. 1O

ABE/1 HA M. M 540225 bvmwaza.

1954 A. KABLOTSKY SEGMENTED CUSHION FOR FURNITURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 14, 1952 PI Er. 11

PIE-H2 LNVENTOR.

ABBA HAM KABLOTSK) United States Patent SEGMENTED CUSHION FOR FURNITURE Abraham Kablotsky, Springfield, Mass.

Application April 14, 1952, Serial No. 282,193

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-179) This invention is concerned with a process for making furniture more comfortable and attractive.

It is an object of this invention to make furniture that can be finished on a mass production basis. Heretofore it has required the skill of a craftsman to finish off the item into its final state. With the process herein described an assembly line of semi-skilled laborers will be able to manufacture the most beautiful of furniture pieces.

It is a further object of this invention to make furniture that is of light weight, and yet allow the furniture to retain its beauty and attractiveness. Heretofore bulky types of furniture have required heavy padding and cushions. With the novel arrangement herein set forth, bulky furniture may be manufactured that will be both beautiful and of light weight, and even more comfortable.

It is a further object of this invention to eliminate the necessity of making one puff up the down type cushions in order to make them take their full shape. The cushions herein will retain their shape after the heaviest of people have sat upon them. Not only will they retain their shape but they will be more comfortable, and more beautiful.

It is still a further object of this invention to eliminate wrinkles on the material covering the cushions of furniture. Where the detachable pillow is used as a back rest, for example, it has a tendency to sag and wrinkle. Where there are slip covers placed upon these detachable pillows, the wrinkles will form unnoticed and it becomes a serious task to have them removed. The nature of the object herein to be described will at all times retain its form, and as an inherent result of this characteristic will not allow its outer material to wrinkle.

It is yet another object of this invention to cut down the cost of manufacture of furniture and to cut down the costs of freight in shipping the furniture, all of which means a lower price to the consumer. It will be apparent from the following description how much easier it will be to freight the item herein, how much lighter and yet more durable it is, and most of all the simplicity by which it may be manufactured.

The above objects and further objects are obtained by making a plurality of geometrical solids from the material or fabric to be used on the furniture piece. Each i of these solids or three dimensional figures are sewed or secured to each other along their lower portions. They are filled with solid or three dimensional figures of similar geometrical design, this material having a spongy characteristic. The outer portion of these covered segments is covered with an inexpensive piece of material that locks the filling material within each separate segment. A plurality of these segments are then fastened to the sitting areas of the furniture frames. The remainder of the operation is done in the conventional manner.

In order to get a more detailed understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description in which:

Figure 1 is an embodiment of a pattern to be cut from the fabric or upholstery in the shape of a rectangular three dimensional solid.

Figure 2 is an embodiment of a pattern to be cut from the fabric or upholstery in the shape of a triangular three dimensional solid.

Figure 3 is a view of Figure l assembled in the shape of a rectangular three dimensional solid.

Figure 4 is a view of Figure 2 assembled in the shape of a triangular three dimensional solid.

Figure 4a is another embodiment of a geometrical figure, a hexagonal three dimensional solid.

Figure 5 is a view of the rectangular three dimensional solids of Figure 3 connected together.

Figure 6 is a view showing how the filler fits into each segment of Figure 5.

Figure 6a is a view of one of the segments of Figure 6 showing the bottom lining attached.

Figure 7 is a view of a plurality of the completed segments of Figure 6, fastened to each other and hanging.

Figure 7 1 is a view of rectangular segments completely assembled for use with a T-cushion type chair.

Figure 8 is the frame of a chair prior to being covered withthe upholstery.

Figure 9 shows only that portion of the chair that has been completed with the segmented cushion.

Figure 10 shows the completed chair with the segmented cushion on both the back and seat portion.

Figure 11 is a view of a hassock that employs the segmented cushions.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of an automobile seat that employs the segmented cushion.

Figure 13 is a view of a modern couch wherein the segmented cushion is used as the seat and back rest.

Figure 14 is a cross section of two segments.

In the manufacture of furniture there are two basic items: the frame and then the padding which includes the upholstering. This invention is concerned with the upholstering of a frame. For the purposes of explanation reference will be made to the item of furniture as a chair and the embodiment of a chair will be construed only for purposes of simplicity. It can be seen from the aforementioned views of the drawings that this invention is not limited to a chair only, but may be extended to any type of object in which a cushion might be used for purposes of comfort, and attractiveness.

The use of foam rubber or air foam or sponge rubber as a pad or cushion is well known. Up to now the use of these materials were in an elementary stage. An inherent characteristic of this material is its resiliency and its natural tendency to return to its original form upon being released from pressure. The use of an upholstered covering upon large areas of this material left much to be desired. Although the cushion effect was vastly improved over prior types of cushioning materials, there was yet not a complete giving in the cushioning effect. With such a large area in one piece of foam, at the areas most remote to the weight applied, there was an elastic or pulling tendency that opposed the giving eifect. With this in mind after much experimentation the following method was discovered. It has overcome the pulling effect of previous foam rubber cushions.

The theory was formulated to make the foam cushion in smaller pieces or segments so that the outer areas would not pull. It then became a matter of experimentation to arrive at a proper construction of the desired product.

The final procedure was perhaps the simplest way. First the desired pattern was selected to be used with a certain style of furniture. For the purposes here the chair will be of the T-shaped cushion type and the style of pattern for the cushions will be rectangles.

The first step is to make from the selected fabric the rectangles. It is of course necessary to determine from the measurement of the chair how many rectangles will be desired, and the dimensions of each. The rectangles are then cut from the fabric as shown in Figure l wherein 2 is the top of therectangle and 1 is the flap or side. Where triangles are desired instead of rectangles the pattern would be cut similarly as shown in Figure 2 wherein Z is the top and 1a is the flap or side. No bottom is cut. As can be seen in Figure 3, the rectangle is stitched or sewn together along its sides or flaps leaving the bottom open. Figure 4 discloses how the triangle appears when it is stitched or sewn into shape. Figure 4a shows how a hexagonal figure would appear if cut and formed from the fabric. The point is made at this time that the possibilities of the geometrical shapes for the segments of the cushion are unlimited.

After the desired number of rectangles have been made by the above method, they are secured to each other at their lower edges. The best method to secure them is by sewing or'stitching although it would not be without the scope of this invention to use other means such as stapling or by zipper or by snaps.

In Figure two rectangles are shown sewn together at 3 which is the lower edge of each. The top 2 in'this figure is furthest away from the viewer. As a matter of practice for a T cushion chair at least six cushions are secured together as shown in Figure 7a.

After the desired number of rectangles made of the fabric have been secured to one another in the specified arrangement, blocks of foam rubber or air foam or sponge rubber are placed from the open bottom into the said fabric rectangles. Figure 6 discloses this feature. The foam rubber block is designated as 4 and appears in Figure 6 above the rectangle to show how it fits down within it. When cutting the block to fit the rectangle fabric form, it is not necessary to cut it smaller than the rectangle since the foam rubber has a resilient characteristic and will take the general form of the fabric container.

As soon as all of the foam fillers have been placed within the fabric rectangles or containers, it becomes necessary to lock or seal the fillers within the containers. The simplest way to do this is to secure or sew a retaining cloth or lining 14 as shown in Figure 6a to the rectangle or container at its bottom edge. As shown in Figure 6a it is only sewed to one edge. it is however pulled over the foam filler 4 and sewed to each of the lower edges. Once this is done the foam rubber is secured within the fabric container. Figure 7 shows how four completed rectangle segments look upon being held up in the air. It is to be noted that they are only held together at their lower edges indicated as 3 which point has already been mentioned.

For a better understanding of these unitary bodies filled with foam rubber particular attention is drawn to Figure 14 in. which a cross-section of two of the rectangles is show. The-foam rubber is indicated as 4 and the fabric within which it is placed is designated as 20. The separate rectangles are sewn together at their lowest edges 3'. It is to be noted that the sides 1 are slightly longer than the blocks of foam rubber 4 in order to provide adequate room for sewing the lower edges 3 together. This can bedone bya hand stitch or by machine. The thread is indicated as 21. In addition to sewing the edges at 3 the retaining cloth 14 is also sewed to these edges. This cloth. 14 which is in a sense a backing sheet locks the rubber blocks 4 within the rectangle containers.

From the above construction the separate segments or v rectangles, or geometrical figures as they may be called without prejudice, may move away from the proximate segment to' which it is sewed and with the resilient characteristic of the foam rubber a double cushioning action is effected. Having these segments connected at their lower edges enables the cushion to compress without tension. Where foam rubber is used in the conventional pillow or cushion, the outer areas away frornthe pressure area act like rubber bands and place a tension on the cushion effect. This opposes the freedom of the cushion action. The above construction, although simple has overcome this trouble.

As can be seen from the above the cushion can. be made independent from the chair frame and thencan be assembled to the frame with little skill. to low cost construction.

Figure 7ddiscloses one of the many possibilities for which these segments may be used. Here there-.is a T- shaped cushion and the back rest cushion. .It is to be This lends itself pointed out that the blocks may be cut to any size in order to fit the selected frame. As here in Figure 7a they have been designed'to'fit a T-shaped cushion and T-shaped back rest type ofchair.

' Figure 8' has been included to. show how the basic chair frame looks prior to being. upholstered. The back frame is indicated as 7 and the seat frame is designated as 8. The springs 'are within the seat covering 5 and the back covering 6. In Figure l0 the completed cushions of Figure 7c havebeen placed inposition on the frame of Figure 8-. 'The'skirtIl) is. fashioned to the. lower edge of the front segments. This canbe stitched in the conventional manner. This seat cushion can be securely attached to the chair by tacking along the edges 3 where each segment is sewed. to its most proximate one. On the back cushion assembly a flap 9 which is made of the fabric is sewed to the top lower edge of this assembly. This is tacked to the frame in the conventional manner. The completed chair appears in Figure 10 wherein the arm rests are designated as 11. The chair gives the appearance of a fabric having rectangles imprinted therein, but as a matter of fact the depth of each segment is at least 2 /2 inches.

Just to show a few more possibilities reference is made to Figure 11 which shows a hassock having a segmented foam cushion wherein. one of the segments has a curved surface and the others are inclined from this curve. The comfort and beauty of this hassock are apparent. From this embodiment it can readily be seen that not only the geometrical pattern of the segments may be varied, but al o the surfaces and planes may be raised or lowered, or may even be curved or inclined.

Figure 12 indicates how these foam rubber upholstered segments may be used with an automobile seat. The construction would be similar to that described previously about the chair. From this figure it can be realized that this method of cushioning a sofa or love seat is quite within the scope of. this invention.

Figure 1.3 discloses a modern type of couch wherein the cushions are in. the nature of one large segmented mattress. The frame is designated as 13. Particular attention should be drawn to the unique arrangement of the geometrical pattern of the segments. At the middle of the piece is a diamond shaped segment surrounded on its proximate sides by right trapezoid segments. The numeral 12' desi nates the diamond segments and the numeral 15 the right trapezoid segment.

From the foregoing it is apparent that this method of cushioning furniture frames can be applied to any type of furniture used for comfort and beauty and that any changes or modifications are within the scope of the invention disclosed herein. The shapes of the segments may be modified; the thickness altered. They may be secured to the furniture; or they may be left to set upon the piece just as a conventional pillow.

I claim:

1. A composite cushion for furniture frames or the like. comprising: a plurality of unitary independent. segments filled with elastic, resilient material, each segment ha 'i'na its top surface of a permanent predetermined geometrical pattern, and the geometrical pattern of one segment matching those of the other to form when the said independent segments are assembled in edge to edge relation a single cushion; a separate layer of fabric for covering each segment, said layer being cut and sewed soas to form a cover in accordance with the geometrical pattern of said segment, a separate backing sheet for each of the segments and permanently secured thereto; fastening means for securing each segment to its proximate segment at its lower edge, and at least one vertical edge of each segment in contact with the vertical surfaces of at least'two other segments.

2. The method for making a composite cushion of fabric and foam rubber comprising the steps of cutting.

a plurality of predetermined complimentary patterns from. the fabric, sewing the fabric pattern so as to form three dimensional units, sewing one unit to another, at its lowest edge so that all the units are connected-"together and so that the upper portions of each unitare free to move from the unit to which it is connected and so that one vertical edge of each unit contacts at least the surfaces of two other units, cutting. bodies of foam rubber of corresponding dimension and pattern to said units, placing said bodies within said units, sewing a separate-sheet over each of said bodies whereby said bodies are permanently sealed'within said units.

References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 537,385 Freschl Apr. 9, 1895' 681,573 Nichols Aug-27, 1901 1,153,120 Lackey Sept. 7, 1915- l.27l,496 Wilson July 2, 19-18 1.592,]46 Miller et a1. July 13, 1926 2,082,151 DEPOlX June 1, 1937 2135,657 Church Nov. 8, 1938 2,288,130 Forney June 30, 1942 2.415150 Stein Feb. 4, 1947 2,491,557 Goolsbee Dec.'20, 1949 

